The idea of releasing new movies to Video on Demand services around the same time they are released in theaters is not a new one, but usually we see this with films from smaller studios. Universal wants to test the waters of distributing a new movie to VOD by releasing their November release, Tower Heist, to Comcast’s service – and they want to charge you $60 for the privilege to watch it at home while it’s still in theaters.
This offer is only being made to Comcast customers in Atlanta, GA and Portland, OR so it seems to be a sort of trial thing for Universal to gauge the response. I don’t really understand why they are choosing to do this with a film like Tower Heist and not a bigger release. They don’t really have anything I personally would consider a “big” release for the rest of the year aside from perhaps The Thing remake/sequel coming out on October 14 so this may have been the best option to get a trial in for this year. The other odd thing is that Universal isn’t releasing the film until three weeks after it hits theaters. I understand wanting to give theaters a chance to sell some tickets first, but it seems if you’re going to try something like this out you may as well go for broke and release it in theaters and VOD on the same day.
I actually like the idea of studios putting new releases out on VOD as an additional option for seeing these films. I actually enjoy the theater-going experience for the most part, but I could see myself and a group of friends getting together and chipping in to order a new release like this to watch it in the comfort of our homes – much like people already do with say UFC Pay-Per-View events. $60 doesn’t seem unreasonable for a gathering of people, but I couldn’t see myself hanging out with my girlfriend on a Friday night and dropping that kind of cash just to watch a movie.
Some movie theaters though already aren’t sharing the same outlook. Cinemark has already released a statement saying that if Universal does release Tower Heist on demand, they will not be screening it in their theaters. While I highly doubt this film will be a hit, Cinemark could be choosing to set a precedent now to intimidate Universal from doing this with some of their bigger films they have coming out next year like The Bourne Legacy.
So would you drop $60 to watch a new release film at home on demand, in particularly Tower Heist? Sound off in the comments below!